1. Field of the Invention
This invention is a method and apparatus for feeding container bodies in a programmed manner and, more particularly, to the feeding of container bodies from one or more blow molding machines whereat they are fabricated to one or a plurality of base cupping machines for further processing and including, between the machines, primary conveyors, alternate conveyors, diverters, conveyors, detectors and a controller for facilitating the most efficient flow of container bodies.
2. Background of the Invention
In the fabrication and assembly of bottles such as plastic bottles of polyethylene terepthilate (PET) used for soft drinks and the like, the bottle parts, container bodies and base cups, are initially fabricated at molding machine. The parts are then transported along separate paths to a base cupping machine whereat the round bottomed container bodies are coupled with the more rigid base cups for subsequently being filled prior to entering the stream of commerce.
One type of conveyor for such bottles is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,287,370 issued Aug. 18, 1987 to Danler. According to that disclosure, the container bodies are suspended by their necks from tracks upon which they are supported and along which they move. Louvers are provided in the conveyor adjacent to the sides of the upper portion of the neck for creating a flow of air which will push such bottles along an intended path of travel from the blow molding machine to the base cupping machine. Such conveyor was initially effective for its purpose. It has been found, however, that the speed at which such mechanism could transport container bodies was inadequate for the speed capabilities of advanced blow molding machines and advanced base cupping machines.
A further improvement over the earlier forms of container body conveyors is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/062,171, filed June 12, 1987, in the name of Aidlin et al. According to that disclosure, the container bodies being conveyed are likewise supported by the neck in depending fashion. In addition to the vertical louvers in the conveyor adjacent to the sides of the upper neck, horizontal louvers are provided above the neck to create a motive force within the bottle itself. The sizes of the plenum chambers forming the conveyors are also varied for greater efficiency and speed. Greatly increased speeds have been realized with such improved conveyors.
With the increased speed of container body movement, it has been found that known styles of sensors and controls were inadequate to properly monitor the flow of bottles. As a result, advanced solid state controllers and sensors were employed for monitoring and controlling the flow of container bodies transported by the improved conveyors. It was found that with the use of advanced solid state controllers and sensors, additional benefits, advantages and capabilities were realized. More specifically, it was found that it was now possible to utilize a plurality of blow molding machines in combination with a plurality of base cupping machines with conveyors arranged in systems configuration with conveyors, diverters, sensors and a programmable solid state controller in such manner as to allow increased utilization of the components of the system. As a result, the efficiency of the components of the overall system is now superior to the sum of the efficiencies of the system components.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved method and apparatus which overcome the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the conveyor art.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide improved method and apparatus for directing a flow of container bodies to a plurality of base cupping machines from a plurality of blow molding machines comprising: (1) a plurality of primary conveyors, each primary conveyor adapted to feed container bodies from a blow molding machine toward a base cupping machine; (2) a plurality of cross-over conveyor for feeding container bodies from one of the primary conveyors to another of the primary conveyor; (3) diverter and converger blades positioned at the junction of primary and cross-over conveyors to direct container bodies between various primary conveyors; (4) a sensor upstream and two sensors downstream of each diverter blade and a sensor downstream and two sensors upstream of each converger blade to detect the flow of container bodies therepast; and (5) programmable control means responsive to the sensors to switch the blades as required for proper feeding of container bodies.
It is a further object of the invention to monitor and control the flow of container bodies from one or more blow molding machines to one or more bottle cupping machines along preselected paths and to modify the paths to meet the needs and capabilities of the system components.
Lastly, it is an object of the invention to more efficiently, conveniently and economically utilize blow molding machines and base cupping machines in the assembly of bottles.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.